Keefe To The City Podcast

After a disappointing 7-5 loss to the mediocre-at-best Giants on Saturday, the Yankees looked more like the Opening Day Yankees on Sunday, winning 6-0. The power showed up with Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Kyle Higashioka hitting home runs an Johnny Brito was dominant with five shutout innings in his major-league debut. The game wasn't without lineup controversy as Aaron Hicks was on the bench against a right-handed starter, while Isiah Kiner-Falefa started in center field despite having zero career outfield appearances. Hicks wasn't happy and made it known to the media.

There's nothing like an Opening Day win, especially when it comes as easy as it did on Thursday. The Yankees beat the Giants 5-0 the exact way they plan to win every game: great starting pitching, a shutdown bullpen and home runs.

Yankees baseball is back and so is the annual Yankees over/unders podcast.Andrew Rotondi of Bronx Pinstripes joined me to go through our annual over/unders for the Yankees’ roster.

The Yankees were thought to have the "best rotation in baseball" for 2023. Now that rotation is down 40 percent of its members with Nestor Cortes working through a hamstring injury and Frankie Montas set to undergo shoulder surgery. Cortes is expected back for the start of the season, if all goes right, but Montas' best-case scenario is to be back sometime late in the season. The Yankees' pitching depth will be tested right away, and the depth isn't what it was before the trade for Montas.

There's still more than three weeks until the trade deadline, but the Rangers decided not to wait until the last minute, trading for the Blues' Vladimir Tarasenko, who will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.The Rangers sent Sammy Blais, Hunter Skinner, a conditional first-round pick an a conditional fourth-round pick to the Blues in exchange for Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola with the Blues also retaining 50 percent of Tarasenko's cap hit.There isn't a single negative to the trade for the Rangers. It's an unbelievable job by Chris Drury.

The World Baseball Classic rosters were announced on Friday and three Yankees will be participating: Kyle Higashioka, Nestor Cortes and Jonathan Loaisiga. I’m not worried about Higashioka participating. I’m somewhat worried about Cortes participating. I’m extremely worried about Loaisiga participating given his injury history.

In what was the most exciting and entertaining game of the season, the Rangers beat the Flames 5-4 in overtime at the Garden. It may not have been the Rangers' best performance, but the game had everything coming off a 10-day layoff, and that included Jacob Trouba having to defend himself after two more clean open-ice hits.

A new baseball season is just about here, and the Yankees continue to try to change the perception of how last season ended and how this offseason has gone. Over the last few days, Brian Cashman once again talked about how close the Yankees were to the World Series, and Michael King went on to say only injuries prevent the Yankees from beating the Astros. It wasn’t a great weekend to be a Yankees fan.

The Yankees blew a two-run lead at home in Game 2 of the ALDS and now go to Cleveland having given away home-field advantage. Nestor Cortes wasn't himself, the offense performed its annual postseason disappearing act and Aaron Boone had one of his worst games as Yankees manager in the Yankees' 3-2 loss in 10 innings.

The Yankees trailed Game 1 of the ALDS 1-0 to the Guardians, but once they tied the game and then took a one-run lead, the outcome never seemed in doubt. The Yankees went on to win 4-1 in what was a relatively easy postseason victory, and how it played out only made me more confident in the Yankees' chances of advancing to the ALCS.

The Yankees pulled off a miraculous ninth-inning comeback on Tuesday night, beating the Pirates 9-8 at the Stadium. The Yankees trailed by four runs and scored five without recording an out, led by Aaron Judge's 60th home run and a Giancarlo Stanton walk-off grand slam. Judge now has five games remaining on the homestand against two last-place teams in the Pirates and Red Sox to break Rogers Maris' American League record.

The lineup was bad, the starting pitching wasn't great, the defense was atrocious, the managing was comical and the postgame accountability was nonexistent as the Yankees lost 4-2 to the Rays on Friday night. The lead in the loss column now sits at two games, and the Yankees' 15 1/2-game collapse is nearly complete.

The Yankees lost again on Saturday, scoring just one run on Aaron Judge's 52nd home run. The Yankees have now lost six of seven, 20 of 29, 26 of 41 and 38 of 68. Their 15 1/2-game division is down to four games and three games in the loss column, and Aaron Boone admitted the team might not turn it around.

The Yankees have finally called up Oswald Peraza. The Yankees’ No. 3 prospect will be with the team on Friday night in Tampa for what is the biggest series of the season. While I’m happy Peraza is finally here, make no mistake, he’s only here because the rosters expanded from 26 to 28 today.

The Yankees had a 15 1/2-game lead on July 8. It's now down to seven and just six in the loss column to the Rays, who they will play six times in the next 13 days. Blowing the division seemed mathematically impossible last month and now it's very much possible.

The Yankees finally dipped into their prospect pool to give their major-league roster a spark. All it took was going 24-29 since June 19 to finally make changes, but Oswaldo Cabrera and Estevan Florial were called up on Wednesday. Between the new look of the roster, Wednesday’s dramatic win and the hopeful returns in the near future of DJ LeMahieu and Giancarlo, maybe the Yankees can get back on track.

The Yankees lost again on Tuesday for their third straight loss and their ninth loss in their last 11 games. Their division lead, which was once 15 1/2 games is now eight games in the loss column. The are losing ground each day and not doing anything about it from a roster or lineup standpoint.

The Yankees are going to the postseason. But what they do when they get there is all that matters. For the last two months, they have done nothing to suggest they won't endure yet another early exit.

The Yankees blew a late two-run lead to the Mariners on Wednesday to lose the three-game series in Seattle. After ending their five-game losing streak on Monday, the Yankees have started a new losing that currently sits at two straight. They have lost 25 of 47 since June 19 and have successfully blown a nine-game lead over the Astros for the 1-seed in the American League.

The Yankees won for the first time in a week, beating the Mariners 9-4 in Seattle on Monday. But the big night from Josh Donaldson and the end of the Yankees' five-game losing streak was dampened by the loss of Matt Carpenter who fouled a ball off his foot, which could end his season.